Editing Sextus Julius Africanus (section)

==Descriptions==
The [[Suda]] claims Africanus was a "[[Ancient Libya|Libyan]] philosopher," and [[Heinrich Gelzer|Gelzer]] considers him of [[Roman people|Roman]] and [[Black people in ancient Roman history|Ethiopian]] descent.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|pp=4f}} Julius called himself a native of [[Jerusalem]] &ndash; which some scholars consider his birthplace<ref>{{cite journal| url = http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2008/2008-04-43.html| title = Martin Wallraff (ed.), ''Iulius Africanus: Chronographiae. The Extant Fragments'', reviewed by Hagith Sivan (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)| journal = Bryn Mawr Classical Review}}</ref> &ndash; and lived at the neighbouring [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]]. His chronicle indicates his familiarity with the topography of historic [[Judea]].{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=10}}

Little of Africanus's life is known, and all dates are uncertain. One tradition places him under the Emperor Gordianus III (238&ndash;244), others mention him under [[Severus Alexander]] (222&ndash;235). He appears to have known [[Abgar VIII]] (176&ndash;213).

Africanus may have served under [[Septimius Severus]] against the [[Osroene|Osroenians]] in 195. He went on an embassy to the emperor [[Severus Alexander]] to ask for the restoration of [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Emmaus]], which had fallen into ruins. His mission succeeded, and Emmaus was henceforward known as [[Emmaus Nicopolis|Nicopolis]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Secord |first=Jared |date=2017 |title=Julius Africanus, Origen, and the Politics of Intellectual Life under the Severans |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44509122 |journal=The Classical World |volume=110 |issue=2 |pages=211–235 |issn=0009-8418}}</ref>

Africanus traveled to Greece and [[Rome]] and went to [[Alexandria]] to study, attracted by the fame of its catechetical school, possibly about the year 215.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=11}} He knew Greek (in which language he wrote), Latin, and Hebrew. He was at one time a soldier and had been a pagan; he wrote all his works as a Christian.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}

Whether Africanus was a layman or a cleric remains controversial. [[Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont]] argued from Africanus's addressing the priest [[Origen]] as "dear brother" that Julius must have been a priest himself<ref>Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, ''Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire ecclésiastique'', III, Paris, 1693, 254</ref> but Gelzer points out that such an argument is inconclusive.{{sfn|Gelzer|1898|p=9}}